This coming Shabbat is called Shabbat Parah – the Sabbath of the Red Heifer. It is one of four special shabbats that precede Passover and comes on the first shabbat following Purim. The special reading for this Shabbat describes the mysterious command to take an unblemished red heifer, kill it, reduce it to ashes in fire, mix the ashes with water and then to use that mixture to ritually purify anyone who comes in contact with a corpse. Our sages call this ruling a choc, that is, a command that has no logical explanation. Why is it in the Torah? No one knows. Why do we read it before Pesach? Our sages say it is to remind us that we need to purify ourselves before Passover, just as our ancestors did before making their pilgrimage for the Pesach sacrifice when the Temple stood – in other words spring cleaning. The removal of leaven from our house is not for dietary reasons, and not simply a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt. It is an opportunity to take a look at our lives and do a spring cleaning of our souls, to remove the worries, angers, and resentments that hold us back from living full lives.

~Rabbi Dean

Clothes make the man, goes the saying. This week’s portion describes the dress that Aaron and his sons must wear as they perform their sacred duties in the Tabernacle. The purpose of these clothes is “for dignity and adornment.” (Exodus 28:40) In other words, these vestments create a sense of seriousness both in the priests performing the sacrificial rights and the people watching them. We do much the same thing. Although we have become much more casual in how we dress, many of us still put on special clothes when we go to a cultural event, or a special party, or even to work. The right clothes set a mood and put us in the proper frame of mind for the task or event ahead. That is why many wear their nicest clothes on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Not to show off, but to show their intention and the importance of the moment. Lest you think this idea superficial, remember that Judaism believes that our actions – even our dress – can influence our inner character. So if we dress as if an event or a synagogue service is important, we will behave that way. If we dress as if we don’t care – we may be telling people how we really feel.

~Rabbi Dean

This week’s Torah portion begins, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him.” (Exodus 25:1-2) Each of us has a special gift to contribute to our community. Those gifts may be money, artistic talent, organizational ability, or the time to drive someone to synagogue or adult ed. That gift may be the commitment to cook a meal for someone in need, the talent to teach our children, or the generosity of preparing a meal. Or it could be the skill to keep our myriad electronic devices functioning or making sure our building is maintained. The list is endless because we need everyone’s unique talent to sustain our congregation. A few lines later our portion continues, “And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8) Why does the verse read, “that I may dwell among them,” rather than, “that I may dwell in it?” The answer is that holiness is found among people who are engaged with each other, not in a structure. When we each bring our special gift to build and sustain this sacred community of Temple Beth Hillel, we make a space where holiness can be found and sustained.

~Rabbi Dean

Last week’s Torah was full of drama as the entire people stood together at Sinai and received the divine revelation of the Ten Commandments. This week’s Torah portion seems to be a litany of very specific and potential boring laws. But it is in the details that holiness is found, for example here, “You must not carry false rumors; you shall not join hands with the guilty to act as a malicious witness: You shall neither side with the mighty to do wrong — you shall not give perverse testimony in a dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the mighty — nor shall you show deference to a poor man in his dispute.” (Exodus 23:1-3) Fairness and honesty in word and deed, refraining from gossip, these behaviors establish and maintain a moral society. Ultimately, we do not spend our lives standing before God at Sinai. We spend it with one another. The small, and potentially boring, ways we treat each other that ultimately bring holiness in the world.

~Rabbi Dean

This week’s Torah portion includes the Ten Commandments or, as they are called in Hebrew, asseret ha dibrot, the Ten Utterances. The fifth commandment is, “Honor your father and your mother,  that you may long endure on the land that the Lord your God is assigning to you.” (Exodus 20:12)

What does it mean to “honor” one’s father and mother? One explanation from the Talmud is that as children we must show them respect and when elderly, children are obligated to house, clothe and feed their parents. There is no mention of love in either the fifth commandment or this explanation of what honor means.

This is not to say that we should not love our parents, but ensuring their dignity is of paramount importance. A society’s moral virtue is judged by how well it treats and respects its elders. How well do we as individuals or collectively, as a nation, meet this moral challenge?

~Rabbi Dean

You know this scene. The Israelites have left Egypt, on their way to freedom. Pharaoh has changed his mind, mustered his army and in hot pursuit has trapped the Israelites against the sea. Terrified they are about to be annihilated, they cry out to Moses, “Let us be, and we will serve the Egyptians, for it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14:12) You know how it ends: God parts the sea and the Israelites cross to freedom. But you may not know that before parting the sea God requires that the Israelites act. He says to Moses, “Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.” (Exodus 14:16) Only after the Israelites begin to move forward does the path to freedom open for them. Positive change requires both faith and action. Without faith we will not act and without action faith remains a dream.
-Rabbi Dean

Chapter 12 of this week’s Torah portion begins “This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.” (Exodus 12:2) The Jewish calendar begins the night of the Exodus from Egypt and liberation from slavery. For the Jewish people, time begins with the rebirth of Israel as free people. Pesach, then, is the birthday of the Jewish people. Each of us has our physical birthday, the day on which we were born. But we may also have a spiritual or psychological birthday—a day when we became more aware, or broke a habit that had enslaved us for years, or the day we met our beloved. What is the month (and year) that marks the beginning of your personal calendar?

Rabbi Dean

The second parasha of the book of Exodus begins with these words, “I have now heard the moaning of the Israelites because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am the Lord. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage.” It is only when Israel realizes they are in bondage and complain that their liberation can begin. We too are often trapped in patterns and habits that are harmful and we don’t even know it. It is only when we see our situation for what it is that we can change and grow.

~Rabbi Dean

This Shabbat we begin the book of Exodus. Early on we read, “A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.” (Exodus 1:8) There is a midrash on Exodus that says the Jews were worthy of being redeemed from Egyptian slavery because they never forgot their Hebrew names. These two ideas are connected. Knowing who we are is essential to our destiny. What does it mean that the new Pharaoh did not know Joseph? The new Pharaoh forgot how Joseph saved Egypt and did not know Joseph’s people, so he was able to enslave the Israelites. The Israelites, despite their hundreds of years in Egypt and their back-breaking bondage, never forgot who they were. Remembering your name means holding on to the last essential shred of identity, which gives you the opportunity to find your way home again – despite the setbacks you meet along the way.
~Rabbi Dean

The meat of this week’s Torah portion is Jacob’s blessings for each of his 12 sons. Genesis seems to be deeply concerned with blessings, for good and for ill. Families are torn apart by blessings and curses. Lives are changed or fulfilled according to the blessings given, stolen or received. What does it all mean for us? Most of us today do not believe that spoken words will shape our destiny. Perhaps the meaning is this. Words matter. What we say, how we say it, and even when we say something can have a profound impact on the lives of those to whom we speak and on ourselves. Judaism has always recognized the power of words and taken them very seriously, whether blessings, vows or gossip. After all, God created the universe with words. Let us all understand the power of words and use them wisely and for good.

~Rabbi Dean